Bible study Christmas Quarrels

Christmas Quarrels

It seems as if not a day goes by that my children don’t fight or shout at each other, usually for very minor reasons. I’ve tried so many things. We’ve gone through bible studies on kindness. We’ve had sticker charts, where they get stars for speaking kindly and encouragingly to one another. We’ve tried punishments …

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Bible study The Pursuit of Perfection

The Pursuit of Perfection

With Christmas fast approaching, we’re being bombarded with all sorts of messages, encouraging us to seek perfection. “Shop here and find the perfect present.” “Order your food from here for the perfect Christmas meal.” “Discover decorations that will make your home perfect for the festive season.” For most people, there is a lot of pressure …

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Bible study Alienation

Alienation

My husband and I have an unusually large number of children (5 in a country where the average is about 1.9[i]). This is highlighted by the reaction people have when we meet them in the street. Rarely can I go out without at least somebody stopping to ask me: ”Are they all yours?” We have …

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Bible study Power and Prayer

Power and Prayer

In early 2020, before the first lockdown, I was at a comedy club, with a couple of good friends. One of the comedians performing that night was from Malawi. He joked that he needed to go back home to see what a stable government looked like! The Malawian government is not known for its stability, …

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Bible study Hair Grows!

Hair Grows!

Have you ever had a really bad cut at the hairdressers? It’s happened to me a few times, where it’s been cut too short, a strange shape, or even wonky. Once, one side was about an inch longer than the other! If you’ve been there, you know the feeling: frustration, regret, disappointment. But then you …

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Bible study Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple

Making the best use of our time, doesn’t mean, filling every moment we have, doing something. It means finding what is *best* in any given moment, and ruthlessly cutting out everything else. There are endless good things we can do with our time. The needs around us are almost infinite. Our family, our home, our …

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Bible study Waste Nothing

Waste Nothing

God can bring about good, from even the worst situations. In the last blog, I looked at Joseph. Joseph was forced into slavery, unjustly imprisoned, and still God used those 13, seemingly wasted years, to bring about good. Through them, Joseph learnt skills that helped him to lead Egypt through a national famine, saving thousands …

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Bible study Nothing Wasted

Nothing Wasted

This academic year, we are starting a new curriculum called ‘Layers of Learning.’   I have tried a few different home-schooling strategies, but so far, none have been quite the right fit:  at least, not in the long term.   The most challenging thing, at the moment, is trying to meet the differing needs of …

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Bible study No Holding Back: Pt 5 By Your Fruit

No Holding Back: Pt 5 By Your Fruit

At the start of this series, I began with an imperative – do not waste the gifts and talents God has given you.    In this blog I feel led to clarify that imperative – accumulating ‘achievements’ is not the same as using your gifts.    Last week, in our church bible study, we looked …

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Bible study No holding back: Pt 4 How will you respond?

No holding back: Pt 4 How will you respond?

Noah’s Ark is one of the most famous Bible stories there is.  So much so, it has inspired innumerable baby toys, accessories, and children’s clothing.   The idea of a floating zoo is novel and child friendly.  But the whole story is actually quite a sobering tale of wickedness, hard work, and salvation.   God …

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